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If you consider a tandem breaker as one breaker then the answer is yes. As for adding two separate circuits under one breaker terminal tab then the answer is no. Circuits are designed to have a specific amount of load to be applied to it. This circuit it designed to be connected to a single breaker. Adding two of these designed circuits to a single breaker will double the designed load and will probably cause nuisance tripping of the breaker. It is this scenario that tandem breakers were designed for, as smaller distribution panel become full, as new appliances and their circuits are added to the system.
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∙ 10y ago
No, a breaker is designed to handle the load of only one circuit. Connecting two circuits to one breaker can overload the circuit and potentially lead to electrical hazards such as overheating, tripping the breaker, or causing a fire. Each circuit must have its own dedicated breaker.
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Can you put in piggy back circuit breakers in a circuit panel?
The electrical terminology for this type of breaker is a tandem breaker. It is where two breakers circuits can be in the same one breaker slot in a distribution panel. On this type of breaker there will be two output for a circuit value of what ever the breaker is rated for.
Is it safe to have two black wires two white wires and two ground wires on a single breaker?
Hopefully just the black wires are on the breaker. Two circuits on one breaker. Shouldn't be a problem. It would depend on how many outlets or lights were on the breaker in total. Even then, there is very little chance of something drawing current from every outlet at the same time. The only thing is you can't put two wires under one breaker (by code). You would have to wire nut them with a pig-tail then just put the one wire under the breaker.
Breaker box is full?
You have two options, one is a complete service change. The average house service these days is 200 amps 42 circuits. The second option is to install a sub panel off the existing service. Depending on how many circuits you need will govern the size the sub panel. Here is where it gets tricky. Two side by side single pole breakers or one two pole breaker will have to be removed from the original service panel and replaced with a new two pole breaker. The size of this breaker will be governed by the total load of the new sub panel. The wire from the new sub panel to the two pole breaker is also governed by the load of the sub panel. As an electrician I would recommend that you not do it yourself but get a qualified electrician to do it for you. He would (should) take a permit out for the job and get it inspected.
Can you use two 15 amp single pole breakers in place of a double pole 30 amp breaker?
Yes. An everyday occurrence of this circuitry is in your kitchen counter split receptacles. The top half of the receptacle is a 15 amp circuit and from the same breaker the bottom half of the receptacle is another 15 amp circuit. A two pole single handle breaker is a common trip. If one of the circuits fed from the breaker faults the other connected circuit will shut off also. If you are talking about slot position in a breaker panel, you can remove the two pole breaker and install two single pole breakers.
What is one half breaker scheme used for 400220kv substation?
a method of interconnecting several circuits and breakers in a switchyard so that three circuit breakers can provide dual switching to each of two circuits by having the circuits share one of the breakers, thus a breaker and one-half per circuit; this scheme provides reliability and operating flexibility, and is generally used at 500 kV when more than five lines terminate in a substation.
Can you put in piggy back circuit breakers in a circuit panel?
The electrical terminology for this type of breaker is a tandem breaker. It is where two breakers circuits can be in the same one breaker slot in a distribution panel. On this type of breaker there will be two output for a circuit value of what ever the breaker is rated for.
What is one and half breaker system in electrical lines?
One and half breaker system is an improvement on the double breaker system to effect saving in the number of circuit breakers. For every 2 circuits, 1 spare breaker is provided: Two feeders are fed from two buses via their associated circuit breakers and these two feeders are coupled by a third circuit breaker which is called tie breaker. During failure of any of the two feeder breakers, the power is fed via the breaker of the second feeder and main breaker (tie breaker).
Is it safe to have two black wires two white wires and two ground wires on a single breaker?
Hopefully just the black wires are on the breaker. Two circuits on one breaker. Shouldn't be a problem. It would depend on how many outlets or lights were on the breaker in total. Even then, there is very little chance of something drawing current from every outlet at the same time. The only thing is you can't put two wires under one breaker (by code). You would have to wire nut them with a pig-tail then just put the one wire under the breaker.
Why would a switch on my distribution panel trip now and again when it's not actually wired up to anything?
Something that the breaker is wired to on the board has an intermittent short. <<>> It could be a case that you are looking at a two pole breaker that at one time was used on a three wire branch circuit. These circuits must disconnect both poles if a fault occurs on either circuit. It could be that one of the circuits was disconnected at some time prior and the one left on the breaker is in effect the cause of the breaker to trip. Without more information it is hard to tell. These types of three wire circuits usually feed kitchen counter receptacles. The next time the breaker trips check to see if it is a two pole breaker. If it is only a single breaker, for safety sake if there is nothing connected to the breaker, leave it in the off position as it may have an internal fault. In the future you may want to change it out for a new one. For more help just leave additional information on the discussion page, page link below.
240V drop black red white bare on a 50A CB installed on the main power panel you want to split ths into two separate 120V circuits using the white as neutral for both will the 50A cb function normally?
It Will To The Exception That It Will Take Over 50 Amps To Kick The Breaker. You Will Have Two Circuits Protected By A Double Pole Breaker. You Could Remove The Strap On The Breaker That Holds The Two Together Giving You 25 Amps Per Circuit. ie One Breaker For The Black Wire And One For The Red Wire. Good Luck No, you will need to remove the double-pole breaker and install a separate breaker for each circuit, preferably no more than 20 A. The neutral and bare grounding wire can serve both circuits.
Breaker box is full?
You have two options, one is a complete service change. The average house service these days is 200 amps 42 circuits. The second option is to install a sub panel off the existing service. Depending on how many circuits you need will govern the size the sub panel. Here is where it gets tricky. Two side by side single pole breakers or one two pole breaker will have to be removed from the original service panel and replaced with a new two pole breaker. The size of this breaker will be governed by the total load of the new sub panel. The wire from the new sub panel to the two pole breaker is also governed by the load of the sub panel. As an electrician I would recommend that you not do it yourself but get a qualified electrician to do it for you. He would (should) take a permit out for the job and get it inspected.
Can you use two 15 amp single pole breakers in place of a double pole 30 amp breaker?
Yes. An everyday occurrence of this circuitry is in your kitchen counter split receptacles. The top half of the receptacle is a 15 amp circuit and from the same breaker the bottom half of the receptacle is another 15 amp circuit. A two pole single handle breaker is a common trip. If one of the circuits fed from the breaker faults the other connected circuit will shut off also. If you are talking about slot position in a breaker panel, you can remove the two pole breaker and install two single pole breakers.
What is one half breaker scheme used for 400220kv substation?
a method of interconnecting several circuits and breakers in a switchyard so that three circuit breakers can provide dual switching to each of two circuits by having the circuits share one of the breakers, thus a breaker and one-half per circuit; this scheme provides reliability and operating flexibility, and is generally used at 500 kV when more than five lines terminate in a substation.
What would a double 15 amp breaker be used for in residential wiring?
Can feed two separate 15 A circuits.
What is the main purpose of SPDT and DPDT switches?
The number of poles refers to how may separate signals or if you will, wires you switch when the switch is activated or deactivated. For example your typical light switch just switches the hot wire and turns the light on or off and is called a SPST switch. The SPDT switches a signal to either of two circuits. So for example, if you had hot connected to the input and a light connected to each output (Throw), you would have one light on and one off and each time you throw the switch the lights switch which is off and which is on. The DPDT can switch two separate signals at the same time and each goes to one of two separate circuits. If you had two separate breakers and four light bulbs you could hook up one breaker hot to one pole and the other breaker to the second pole. If you had four light bulbs each connected to each of two switch outputs, then one bulb from each breaker would be on and when switched the other bulb on each breaker would be on. For diagrams just search for SPDT and DPDT.
Why would a 30A-250V outlet still have power with breaker off?
It sounds like the breaker is unserviceable. Seeing as it supplies 240 volt outlet it must be a two pole breaker. If it is a single handle two pole breaker then one pole set inside the breaker is not disconnecting one of the lines. If it is supplied from two single pole breakers that has a common tie, the common tie might be loose and does not shut off both poles when thrown to the off position. If there is no common tie then both breakers must be turned off to interrupt the 240 volt supply.
Can one single pole switch be used to activate two separate motors on separate circuits?
Basically, No. For them to be on separate circuits, they could not be switched on one pole. If you could, they would be on the same circuit. If you joined the wires from both circuits in this way, you would circumvent the purpose of the circuit breaker, violate code, and create a fire hazard. On the other hand, it could possibly be done using a couple relays but that is not a simple solution either. Also, depending on what exactly you are doing, a sub-panel for both circuits could be installed off the main breaker and basically create two "sub" circuits. you would have to make sure they are rated correctly. Please consult a Electrician with more detail about what you are trying to do before attempting anything. <<>> If you could substitute the single pole switch for a double pole switch this would solve your problem. The throw of the switch would cause your two circuits to become energized.
